CATCH THE BUZZ – Dr. Jay Evans Named Research Leader at Beltsville

SUBJECT: Appointment of Dr. Jay Evans as the Research Leader of the Bee Research Laboratory in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

FROM: Dariusz M. Swietlik, Director, Northeast Area ARS, USDA

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jay Evans as the Research Leader of the Bee Research Laboratory (BRL) in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

Dr. Evans joined ARS as a Research Entomologist in 1998. During the ensuing years his research focused on threats to honey bee health, from bacteria to mites, and on the ways bees and beekeepers can reduce these threats. He published 120 research papers from his work. Dr. Evans was an early proponent of the Honey Bee Genome Project and helped recruit and lead scientists interested in applied genomics for bees. He has received the James Hambleton Bee Research Award from the Eastern Apicultural Society (2011), the BA Early Career Scientist Award (2002), and is on the Council of Fellows for the International Bee Research Association. Dr. Evans holds an AB in Biology from Princeton University and a PhD in Biology from the University of Utah. He has served as Acting Research Leader for the BRL since October, 2014.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Jay Evans to this very important leadership position.

And, from Dr. Evans….

These are big shoes to fill and traditions to uphold but I am honored to help direct the great scientists here and can assure you that Drs. Chen, Cook, Corona and Pettis, along with Bart Smith and the BRL staff, are similarly completely devoted to helping bees and beekeepers in these challenging times. We welcome and appreciate your critiques and feedback on how we can best accomplish our duties. all the best, Jay